THE state Attorney-General's Office will take measures to correct its lawyer's “misguided statements” in the case of Putrajaya’s appeal to stop a review of Sabah’s 40% revenue claim..
Attorney-General Datuk Nor Asiah Mohd Yusof made this statement following Putrajaya’s appeal against a High Court decision granting leave to the Sabah Law Society (SLS) to review the Sabah's 40% claim to revenue derived from the state.
"The State Attorney-General’s Chambers will take necessary measures to correct any misguided statement that deviates from the state’s clear and formal position,” she said in a statement today.
In Thursday’s appeal proceeding, the last-minute entry of the state government as an “intervener” saw the lawyer representing the state AG’s office, Tengku Fuad Ahmad, question the locus standi of the SLS in seeking a review of the state’s 40% revenue entitlement.
Fuad had said that Article 112C of the Federal Constitution is “not a mandatory or absolute right” and that “the 40% special grant revenue is an aspirational article, designed for something to work towards rather than an absolute right under mandamus.”
The state has dismissed the assertions.
Nor Asiah clarified that the Sabah AG’s office has actively participated in all discussions related to Articles 112C and 112D of the Federal Constitution with the Sabah Finance Ministry and the federal government, and that its stance is fully aligned with that of Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor.
“The State Attorney-General’s Chambers has been instrumental in these negotiations, ensuring that Sabah’s legal and constitutional claims are effectively represented… This includes seeking compensation for the ‘lost years’ from 1974 to the present when no review of the special grant took place,” she said.
The "lost years" refer to the period 1974 to 2022, during which Sabah’s special grant was not reviewed as stipulated in Article 112D of the Federal Constitution.
Asiah also expressed support for the SLS’s bid to seek a judicial review on the matter as public interest litigation, adding that “this is vital for upholding the rule of law and ensuring justice.”
The Sabah government wrote a letter to intervene as a co-appellant on July 31, 2023. – May 19, 2024.
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